The present invention relates to a press-bonding jig for press-bonding a vertical plate material to a horizontal plate material along an edge portion of the horizontal plate material, and to a method of bonding a vertical plate material to the horizontal plate material by using the jig. For example, it relates to a press-bonding jig used for bonding a front-edge plate material or a backsplash plate material consisting of a long plate material to a counter plate material consisting of a long horizontal plate material, and to a bonding method of bonding the front-edge plate material and the backsplash plate material to the counter plate material by using the press-bonding jig, in the case of manufacturing a system kitchen counter or a washbasin counter made of a solid surface.
In recent years, solid surface are increasingly used for various counters in the households, restaurants, hotels and the like. A front-edge and a backsplash of a kitchen counter or a washbasin counter made of a solid surface are formed by separately cutting out their respective materials from a sheet plate material and bonding them to a counter plate material. According to a conventional bonding method, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, adhesive is applied to a bonding surface, a front-edge plate material 2xe2x80x2 and a backsplash plate material 3xe2x80x2 are positioned relative to each other, and thereafter, fixtures 15 such as G-clamps or sash cramps are fastened and fixed at about 10 cm intervals manually throughout the entire length of a counter plate material 1xe2x80x2, so that the front-edge plate material and the backsplash plate material can be press-bonded to the counter plate material 1xe2x80x2 through the entire length thereof with an almost uniform force.
In the above-stated fixing method using G-clamps or sash cramps, however, plate materials tend to be shifted from one another when clamping them with G-clamps or sash cramps, therefore expertise is required to bond them at predetermined angles and predetermined positions. Further, due to such manual operation, even an expert cannot constantly finish it to be a precise assembly. Besides, many G-clamps or sash cramps are needed and it takes lot of time to attach and detach them.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a press-bonding jig which does not require expertise to carry out press-bonding operation which has been conventionally conducted by manually fastening G-clamps or sash cramps, and which can press-bond a front-edge plate material and a backsplash plate material to a counter plate material in a short time, and to provide a bonding method capable of ensuring a beautiful finish in a constant shape by using the press-bonding jig.
To attain the above object, the present invention mainly comprises a press-bonding jig for press-bonding a vertical plate material to a horizontal plate material, set at a workbench having a positioning means for positioning a long horizontal plate material and a long vertical plate material or at a member disposed around the workbench to press and fix the respective plate materials to each other along edge portions thereof, characterized by comprising at least one pressing member for press-bonding the respective plate materials along a length direction thereof; a plurality of actuation means disposed along a pressing and bonding surface of the plate materials for actuating the pressing member in a pressing direction; and a start/stop means for starting and stopping the actuation means, wherein said horizontal plate material is a counter plate material and said vertical plate material is a front-edge plate material and a backsplash plate material, said actuation means of said pressing member for pressing said front-edge plate material are horizontally arranged at intervals of not less than four means/m, and said actuation means of said pressing member for pressing said backsplash plate material are horizontally arranged at intervals of not less than three means/m and vertically arranged at not less than four means/m.
A fluid pressure cylinder can be employed as the actuation means. Alternatively, a cylinder-type air spring or a magnet spring can be employed as the actuation means.
The pressing members are in plural and are attached to the plurality of the actuation means, respectively. Alternatively, a plurality of the pressing members may be provided, and attached and connected to some of the plurality of actuation means. Further, the pressing means may be single, and attached and connected to all of the actuation means.
Further, it is preferable that the press-bonding jig further comprises an actuation control means for first actuating the actuation means arranged at a center in the length direction among the plurality of actuation means and next actuating the actuation means arranged at both sides of the actuation means at the center sequentially toward the both ends of the means.
Moreover, another aspect of the present invention mainly comprises a bonding method for pressing and bonding a long vertical plate material and a long horizontal plate to each other at their edge portions in a length direction thereof, characterized by press-bonding the horizontal and vertical plate materials using any one of the above-stated press-bonding jigs.
When the plate materials are made of a solid surface and the vertical plate material is a backsplash plate material and/or a front-edge plate material for a counter, it is preferable that the front-edge plate material is pressed with a force not less than 6 kg/cm2 in a horizontal direction, and the backsplash plate material is pressed with a force not less than 1 Kg/cm2 in a horizontal direction and with a force not less than 7 Kg/cm2 in a vertical direction, independently of each other.
When the above-stated front-edge plate material and the backsplash plate materials are to be bonded to and assembled with the counter plate material of a kitchen counter for instance, the above-stated pressure-bonding jig is set at and around the workbench, and the counter plate material is mounted on the workbench and then the front-edge and backsplash plate materials are mounted to the counter plate material in a state that adhesive is applied to the bonding surfaces of the respective plate materials. Thereafter, the actuation members of the press-bonding jig of the present invention are actuated and the front-edge plate material and the backsplash plate materials are pressed to the counter plate material by the pressing members. At this moment, the respective plate materials are pressed against the positioning means of the workbench and kept positioned at predetermined positions by the operation of the actuation members. Due to this, the plate materials are not shifted relative to one another. Further, there is no irregularity in the pressing force that was seen in the manual operation, and the plate materials are press-bonded with a uniform pressing force in a longitudinal direction thereof. Hence, the plate materials can be bonded beautifully into a constant shape. Furthermore, working time can be greatly shortened and working efficiency can be improved since it is not necessary to fix many fixtures to the plate materials.